Description

Though it sees less traffic than its more moderate neighbors, Ventilator should definitely be on your to do list. It is a challenging, slabby climb that seems to have gotten more challenging over the years as useful holds have crumbled off, but overall the rock is nice the moves are fun and the pro is good. Well...except getting to that first bolt, that can be a bit scary. Basically, you have to do some cruxy climbing to gain the first bolt with a little ledge beneath you. Keep your head together and you will be fine.

Basically, you climb the first pitch of Bombardment, which is 5.6R, to a small ledge. Step about 10-15 feet right (place a few pieces in a crack on your way) until you are under the first bolt (an old but solid ring bolt). Just follow the bolts up the slab, then break right to a short crack and in to a gully which is followed to the tree ledge below the Barber Wall.

Location

15 feet right of Bombardment (5.8). Accessed from the ledge atop the first pitch of that route.

Granted, I hung at each bolt on my way up this but, I will say I thought the bolt placements were okay. It's known as a spicy route, and sometimes spicy routes are exciting when you want something... spicy. I was able to work halfway up to the first bolt and hop off back on to the ledge to get my confidence up. So I guess what I want to say is, I don't think the bolting should be changed. But then again, I'm a touron from out of state.

I agree, John, and the climb has gotten harder over the years---a few tiny flakes have come off and all the skid marks make it kinda greasy. Getting to the first bolt is a bit of a head-trip, with ankle-tweaking potential. The first bolt should be about six inches left of where it is (or the holds should all be moved six inches to the right). If there is any humidity or the temperature is above 70, I'd skip this route (but I'm a bit of a wimp).

I must have spent 15 minutes on that 6" ledge looking up at that ring bolt. In the end, I think I placed gear FAR off to the left, sucked it up, and got up to where I could grab that ring bolt, hang on, and rodeo clip it. From the days when a "full rack of cams" meant that you had a single #1, #2, and #3 camalot, it was bolted decently. Go try some of the old school routes on whitehorse slabs if you want to see runout.

An acquaintance of mine did the same thing, only he felt stylistically bad about grabbing the bolt, and felt he had to back down and do it clean. In the process of backing down, he came off and broke his leg.

So, I'm happy with the style I did it in. In fact in the eyes of most of today's climbers who are used to clipping bolts spaced at 2' in the gym and complain about "run-outs of 10 feet", I don't think anyone would even notice :)

I did in the original 5.10 verticals from 1989. I'd love to go back and try it in modern shoes. I shudder at what it was probably originally climbed in.

I climbed this this past October and thought it was pretty sweet. Got on it first thing on a cool morning and felt pretty secure getting to the first bolt, but damn is hard to clip that ring laying flat on the slab. I also thought bolt 4 seemed a little left of the natural line.